Prior packaging systems are known that include sleeves or other wraparound type collars with a support tab, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,664 to Bartosek. The '664 patent discloses a collar or sleeve that wraps around a tray with the collar ends overlapping at a joint, where they are connected, with an end extending from the joint to form a tab that extends in the wrapping direction of the collar. The tab then acts with the corresponding edge of the tray and collar portion covering the edge of the tray to support the package in an upright position. However, in assembling the collar care must be taken upon interconnecting the overlapping portions at the joint, such that the tab is properly formed extending beyond the joint. Thus, there is a high precision required in assembling the collar portion/sleeve to ensure that the tab is properly formed so that an adequate amount of the overlapping portion extends from the joint to form the tab.
It is also known to provide sleeves having an end flap in addition to a support leg with the end flap being mechanically secured to the tray in order to retain the tray within the sleeve and to almost completely enclose the tray therein, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,484 to Gics. The '484 patent discloses a sleeve that envelops or covers almost the entire tray and that in addition to a tab extending from a joint overlapping at an end of the sleeve in the wrapping direction of the sleeve, the sleeve also has at least one end flap extending from the sleeve along an adjacent edge perpendicular to the leg that is mechanically secured to the tray to retain the tray within the sleeve. These end flaps extend from the back panel of the sleeve and contain bend or fold lines therebetween to allow the end flaps to be movable with respect to the back panel. The end flaps fold inwards along the bend lines toward the opposite end of the tray packaged within the sleeve to secure to the flange of the tray, essentially enclosing the entire tray within the sleeve. Thus, if a translucent or transparent tray is provided, its interior contents would not be visible to a consumer because of the sleeve that is wrapped around it.
Accordingly, there is a need for a sleeve that can provide a stand up feature to stand a package upright without completely enclosing the package therein and further does not require precision in assembling the sleeve such that a tab would need to extend precisely in relation to the overlapping panels of the sleeve when assembling.